Highlights From SEC Media Day 1
Do y’all smell that? Do y’all feel that? I sure as shit do; That feeling is college football season, and it is coming. Around this time of the year is when I start getting a hankering for some SEC football. That is because it is mid-July and you know what that means? SEC Football Media Days.
Ahh yes, the time of year when SEC programs choose their most put together players to answer questions from blood thirsty journalists seeking a headline in the dog days of the summer news cycle. Where each coach gets up on stage to talk about the current status of their programs and how they plan on trying to top Alabama this year.
Today was Day 1 and the lineup went as follows:
SEC Commissioner: Greg Sankey
Arkansas: Coach Bret Bielema and his players Austin Allen (QB), Frank Ragnow (OL), Kevin Richardson II (DB)
LSU: Coach Ed Orgeron and his players D.J. Chark (WR), Derrius Guice (RB), Christian LaCouture (DB)
Tennessee: Coach Butch Jones and his players Emmanuel Moseley (DB), Jashon Robertson (OL), Kendal Vickers (DL)
Sankey started off the day discussing the history of the SEC and how on the 9th of December, it will be 85 years since the SEC was created. He went on to talk about the 50th anniversary of Nate Northington, the first African-American to play for an SEC school as a varsity student athlete in an SEC football game. Oh, he also had a little pea-cocking moment where he dropped some knowledge on the folks back home…
Incredible. In the future when people say the SEC is only a football conference I will be sure to have that tweet loaded in my holster. Moving on, we had Bret “I like to wear cool shoes to SEC Media Days” Bielema. (he didn’t this year unfortunately) His first child was was born Saturday afternoon, and now he is at a podium talking about his football team, what a football guy. He also apparently butt dialed Sankey the other day which is news because its July 10th and there is nothing else to talk about.
^See what I mean…
About the team, Bielema discussed the poor ending to the Razorbacks season dropping their last three of four games. They made a change to the defensive staff promoting Paul Rhoads to coordinator. Hopefully the switch from a 4-3 base to a 3-4 will be enough to propel Arkansas to a better finish than 7-6…Bring back Darren McFadden and we can talk about 8-5.
Bielema did have one zinger today.
Speaking of the PMT boys favorite southerner, Coach O seemed to be the center of attention. After taking over LSU as head coach and posting a 5-2 record, LSU fans are high on the Tigers this season. With Derrius Guice as a Heisman contender, the team should go far in the SEC. Especially with a coach who is all about the team.
Shockingly not many headlines were brought up today during LSU’s time, just a lot of impressions of Farmer Fran from The Waterboy, I mean Coach O. We know who holds the trophy in that category… cc: @PardonMyTake
Finishing the day we had Butch Jones, the coach who is a, “Champion of Life” but not of the SEC.
Kendall Vickers, a d-lineman for the Volunteers was asked if Butch Jones was on the hot seat. He said that talk is disrespectful and that the program has come a long way since Vickers got to UT. I have to agree with him there, but Jones has yet to make it to an SEC championship in his four years with the Vols in a weak SEC East. This year Georgia seems to be coming for that East Championship spot so Jones better figure it out quickly so he can lose to Saban twice in the same season.
That is it for today. Tomorrow we got Florida, Georgia, Vanderbilt, and Mississippi State from 9:30-4 on SEC Network.
Written by @JakeBass657